Suddenly, a sense of exhaustion pressed through Snow as she thought of the coming evening. Her shoulders slumped a little.
“Snow, do stand up straight,” Yirrie said when she noticed. She pressed a hand into her back between her shoulder blades to force her back straight.
Once Zaliya was finished with the hem, she rose, her knees creaking as she did. Then she went to work on pinning up the end of the sleeves so they would fit her properly.
“Is there nothing you can do about the neckline?” Snow asked.
Zaliya stopped what she was doing to give her an incredulous look. “What’s wrong with it?”
“It’s just…” Snow made a gesture with her free hand up and down. “Too…”
“It’s fine, dear,” Yirrie said. “This gown will turn all the heads.”
She sounded so happy about that it was hard for Snow to argue. She had to admit it was a lovely gown. Blue with shimmering silver whorls that twisted and turned up and down the bodice and the skirt. For a moment, the thought it made her feel like a princess skittered through her mind. Then she quickly pushed that away. She was no longer a princess. She had lost her kingdom years ago.
“It’s just that it feels a bit plunging,” Snow tried again.
Zaliya finished with her second sleeve, all the pins removed from her mouth now. “It’s perfect, dear. Now if you’ll let me have the gown, I’ll have it finished and back before you know it. Be careful of all the pins.”
Nodding, Snow returned to the dressing room and slipped out of the gown and back into her day dress with the dirt smudged along the skirt. In her mother’s room, she handed off the dress and wondered when she could make her escape back into nature.
Zaliya took the gown with a nod and told Yirrie she would return in a few hours with both gowns—which meant her mother already had her final fitting.
“Now that you’re back, I need your help in the kitchen.”
Yirrie had other plans for her. Snow should have realized solstice day was a busy one. She wouldn’t likely get another chance to visit the forest until tomorrow. Sighing, she gave a nod and followed her.
Chapter 3
Yirriewasknownforher breads. Every year, she made more than a dozen loaves of different kinds—from acorn bread to oat cakes to their traditional elven bread. She was also known for her mini vegetable pies. Over the years, she’d taught Snow how to bake them.
It wasn’t the only thing her elven family taught her, though. Even at the age of eight, Snow had the ability to connect to nature around her. It was the reason she managed to survive that first night alone. She had conjured a bed out of leaves and vines and conversed with the local wildlife, asking them to keep her safe. At the time, she didn’t know about the sprites who made the forest their home or even the elves who dwelled deep in their tree village.
By the second night, she made her way deeper into the forest. She’d made friends with a squirrel and an owl who followed her on her trek through the trees. By nightfall, exhausted and hungry, she made another bed at the foot of a tree. Faradill.
The next morning, Yirrie found her. To this day, she wondered if the ancient tree had something to do with that. He had never told her, but it seemed fitting that he would call to the elves and beseech them on her behalf.
Yirrie and Elator took her in. And though she already had elemental magic, they taught her how to hone and use it. Yirrie herself was connected to the earth. She could grow anything from the tiniest seed. That’s why her vegetables pies were so unforgettable.
All of this crossed Snow’s mind as she kneaded the bread, then placed it in a bowl to rise. Why she remembered it now, she didn’t know. It was almost as though she sensed something. Perhaps it was merely a feeling deep in the pit of her gut. A feeling that told her everything was about to change. That her peaceful existence would be no more.
It didn’t help the Springtide Festival loomed ahead of her. Most of the elves accepted her as one of their own. There were a few who didn’t. Her stomach was a mess of butterflies at the thought of a romantic pursuit. She was content to live with Yirrie and Elator for these last ten years. But now, at eighteen, the expectation was that she was to find a mate. It was, after all, the elven custom.
“Snow, dear, are you all right?”
Yirrie’s question snapped her out of her thoughts. She realized she still held a ball of dough in her hands and had yet to knead it.
“Oh. Yes. I’m fine.”
Yirrie glanced at her askance as she slipped the dough from her hands. “You look tired. You spent most of the night in the forest, didn’t you?”
Guilt washed over her as she wiped her hands on a blue and white kitchen towel. She pressed her lips together trying to decide how to answer.
“You don’t have to answer. I know the truth of it.” She gave her a surreptitious wink.
Snow blew out a breath. “I was. I’m sorry, Yirrie. The moon was so bright and full and it was hard to resist. It was a perfect evening. The forest was quiet except for a few of the nocturnal creatures.”
“I think you’re a bit nocturnal yourself,” Yirrie said, good-naturedly. She placed the dough on the counter and started to knead it. “Are you sure it’s safe for you out there?”
